Pascal Comelade
September Song

But is an 8-track record a long EP or a short LP???
Pascal Comelade, for those who don't know him, is a Catalan composer/author for whom life is worth living... a true minstrel. Pascal (you feel like calling him by his first name) is infatuated with analog sounds and toy instruments, he's someone who makes the corners of your mouth curl upwards... Pascal released this September Song probably because he is justifiably proud of the duet he recorded with Robert Wyatt, and then he added other tracks that, as only he can, manage to feel new and exciting. With the songs he's chosen, he's quite tricky... Starting with "Knockin On Heaven's Door" which here feels like a hymn to peace played on a sunny, slightly windy day on a beach in Bali. Like Dallara and Modugno before him, it reminds you of the good things in life... a bottle of wine, a sunset in the countryside while our man plays with toys and bath figurines (I imagine one of those yellow ducklings, but I have no proof...).

In a decidedly lesser tone is how our man handles Cutugno with L'italiano, perfectly rendering its useless pomposity but it seems too much like a piano bar backing track to give it a positive judgment (but you can sing along!). You've never heard 24000 baci like this... In short, a Yann Tiersen where the intimacy (sometimes excessive) is replaced by plenty of irony, love for all things Mediterranean, and a desire to play with sounds, I don't think you could ask for more... and if you can, do recover Danses Et Chants De Syldavie. I'll talk about it soon...